POWELL — The living room is lined with dolls, games and toys. Foosball and air-hockey tables are set up nearby.

The kid-friendly entrance to Marci Maynard's home extends to the family room and kitchen, where children's portraits hang, evidence of the priorities of this mother of four.

The focus on her kids was shared by Maynard's mother, Marilyn Sue Humason, who bought the four-bedroom home in May 2016 for her daughter's use.

Humason, 73, of Arizona, was battling cancer and wanted to leave her grandchildren a stable life and means to further their education in the Olentangy school district and beyond, Maynard said.

A difficult divorce the year before had left Maynard with no alimony or child support, few assets and shared parenting of her children.

The house on Sanderling Avenue, just north of downtown Powell, has become her refuge amid the bumps and bruises of life.

Although her mother's gesture took Maynard by surprise, the real shock came later when she learned that her mother's will, signed in 2015, had directed that all her assets and property be liquidated upon her death and be placed in the trust of Security National Bank of Springfield for the future education of Maynard's four children and two other children of Maynard's sister.

That meant that the home, bought with $340,000 in cash, would be taken away.

Humason, Maynard said, had planned to update her will but didn't before she died of complications from cancer in August.

The Springfield bank now is forcing Maynard to vacate her home or face eviction. Maynard disagrees with the bank and says that her mother's actions, not an outdated will, speak for themselves.

"Logically, how can you explain that my mom would pay cash for a house in May and then expect for the house to be sold in September, just after she died?" Maynard said.

Both sides acknowledge that the net proceeds from the estate, including the house, were a gift only to the children — and only when they turn 21 or need help funding their education. In court documents, Maynard's sister says she's opposed to Maynard and her family staying in the home.

The situation is complicated by the bank's relationship with the children. Security National is both the executor of Humason's estate and the custodian of the home and inheritance, both of which are meant for the children.

As executor, the bank must fairly administer the proceeds of the estate per the instructions of the will. As custodian, the bank is required to consider the best interests of the children.

Maynard has mockingly told the bank in a letter that these are conflicting roles, suggesting the bank's message to the children is: "We (the bank) want to sell your home and give you the cash, which you can't access on your own until you are 21. In the meantime, we the bank have access to that cash, and we can lend against it and charge more fees to manage it."

A probate judge in Clark County, where Humason once lived, ruled in March that the bank can't be forced to keep the home for the Maynards, but Judge Richard P. Carey also noted that the bank "has great discretion with respect to the distribution of funds so long as it is for the use and benefit of each child."

That means the bank is permitted, but not required, to accommodate Maynard's request to let her stay.

Dan Harkins, Humason's attorney who also represents the bank, said Humason never asked to change her will, and he cites passages from her journals "reminding Marci to buy the property from her and that Marci needed to get a job and become a productive adult," Harkins said.

Maynard said she has had three jobs since her divorce, but can't afford to buy the house.

A week ago, Maynard offered to begin payments of $1,875 per month to lease-purchase the home. The bank rejected the offer on Monday, stating: "(The bank) expects that you will vacate the premises on July 15, 2017."

John A. Brown, president of Security National, said he's confident in the decision, saying the case was handled "as patiently and humanely as possible, and providing Ms. Maynard with as many options and as much time to proceed as possible."

"We must always honor the intentions of our customer; in this case, it was Marci's mother," he said. "We have a legal and fiduciary responsibility to follow through on what she intended. If it has caused any burden to others, we empathize."

Maynard counters, "They also have a legal and fiduciary responsibility to the children, and they're still living."

Paul Bittner, Maynard's attorney, said the saga is unusual and tragic, noting that "four children will benefit from their grandmother’s generosity, with close to half of the benefits coming from the sale of their home. The irony, though, is that they will now have to find a new place to live."

Similar pitfalls are preventable with an updated will, Bittner said.

"You need to be proactive about changing things, because life changes."